Certificate of Discharge on Demobilisation for Ingrey Clarice, who worked in the WLA from May 1917 to November 1919. Ingrey clearly did well; the WLA noted her excellent service and personal character. Ingrey also received a Good Service Ribbon. This document could have been used by Ingrey as a reference in her post-war occupation.

If by chance there is someone out there whose mum is called Beryl who may have served in the Women’s Land Arrmy in WW2. My mum is coming up to 90 years old just before the New Year so be nice to hear if Beryl or a family member right is out there. My mum comes from the Lake District but moved with the Women’s Land Army from Cumbria to Hertfordshire. Stayed in the Totteridge Hall in north London using the local pub the Rising Sun.

Here is a photograph of my mum Betty Dugdale in the middle with her pals from the land army. The lady on the left of the photo was Irish my mum said and Beryl Head is the lady to the right of the photo as we look at it but to my mum’s left.

My mum joined the land army in the Lake District on 1.7.194 and transferred in 1946 to Hertfordshire where I think this photo was taken. She resigned from the Land army in 1947. Beryl Head is the lady my mum would love to hear from in particular. My mum said they had an initial exchange of letters when they both left – they both had a child.

I have been to the National Archives and retrieved my mum’s registration microfiche which was lovely to hand a copy of to her on her 90th – she had joined in 1941 in Ambleside where she worked for a few years before the transfer to Hertfordshire.

Emma Jolly was born in 1895 and served with the Women’s Land Army from 1917. She trained at Highcroft in Hertfordshire and was posted to Arkley Rise estate near Barnet where she worked hard at farm work, feeding hens, milking cows and churning butter. She later married Walter Ely and had a son.

The Honorary Florence Fremantle belonged to a Buckinghamshire family with long standing army connections. Her father, Lord Cottesloe, was Colonel of the Bucks Battalion Territorial Army. Her brother Halford died in battle in 1915 and this had a profound effect on the 17-year-old girl.

His loss served to galvanise her determination to serve the war effort and as soon as the Board of Agriculture organised the Women’s Land Army she joined.

As one of 23,000 across the country who first signed up to fill the gaps left by men who had gone to war, Florence felt she was honouring Halford’s memory, as well as helping food production for her country.

She was sent to Hertfordshire where she wrote poems and songs and began sketching and painting. She was asked to write a girl’s Land Army song to encourage national recruitment, and one of her paintings focused on the place where her beloved brother was buried.